Justification 1:1 devices in the District’s Long Range Plan The Lenape Regional High School District’s long range plan Strategy # 5 action plan aims to develop a program that will ensure that every student has a computing device and access to a district e-mail address. The iPod touch is the perfect tool to accomplish this goal. In a recent poll among Lenape Freshmen Science Students, nearly 90% said they would be VERY interested in using an iPod Touch in every class and nearly 65% of participants said that they would rather have an iPod touch as an all-inone device instead of a Windows or Macintosh laptop. Why the iPod touch? It’s small, lightweight, compact, relatively inexpensive, extremely user friendly and, most of all, extremely versatile. An iPod Touch’s potential as a 1:1 mobile computing devices far exceeds anything currently available on the market and is extremely cost effective when factoring in the funds that would be saved on multiple copies of textbooks alone. Our proposal could serve as a pilot program to test the feasibility of iPod touch incorporation into our classrooms throughout the district. Mobile Learning In another recent classroom polls among freshmen science students at Lenape High School, nearly 100% of students own and use cellular telephones and as many as 35% of participants own and use an iPod touch or iPhone. The potential for using these devices as tools for mobile learning is exploding exponentially, not only with means to stay connected with our students and teach them outside of the classroom, but also with ways to engage them with the very same devices that they’ve grown with as “digital natives.” Lenape’s brick, mortar, cement and steel will no longer be the boundaries for learning as students access digital content from teachers ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE. As educators and “digital natives” who are striving to find new ways to contend with the demands of twenty-first century classrooms and connect with our students, we need to embrace these “pocket” technologies and use them to enhance our curricular objectives. Students who already own a device could opt to use their own Cross-Curricular Relevance is always one of the keys behind an effective lesson. Opening the door for cross-curricular integration in multiple subject areas will undoubtedly improve student interest, motivation, and ultimately, performance. As team teachers of Environmental Earth Science, Mrs. Buck and I have noted that one of the biggest challenges facing our students is literacy. Yes, most of them are proficient readers, but many have difficulty with analysis of vocabulary and in turn, its proper syntax and use. Many students struggle with formal assessments not because they don’t know or understand the material, but often because they do not understand what the question is asking them. If we were able to use the English Language Arts classes as extensions of our goals in Science class, it’s our hope that it would dramatically improve student achievement not only in our classes but also on State mandated tests, like the End of course Test for Biology.
G r a n t s f o r E d u c a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e P r o p o s a l
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